Scottish Executive

Alcohol Misuse

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people were convicted of drink-driving in (a) 2002-03 and (b) 2003-04.

Cathy Jamieson: The latest information currently available relates to calendar year 2002. In that year a total of 9,978 drink-driving offences resulted in a charge proved in court. It is planned to publish information for 2003 in November.

Dental Health

Mr David Davidson (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide free dental check-ups within easy access of every community.

Mr Tom McCabe: Through the partnership agreement we have undertaken to systematically introduce free dental checks for all by 2007 and are discussing with the dental profession the method of implementation. And we have introduced in recent months a range of measures aimed at improving access to NHS dental services.

Dental Health

Shona Robison (Dundee East) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many additional allowances have been granted to dentists who take up their vocational training in a designated area and how much has been awarded in such allowances in each year since the scheme was introduced, broken down by designated area.

Mr Tom McCabe: The information requested is shown in the following table.

  Payments to Dentists Taking up Vocational Training in a Designated Area

  

 Designated area
 2002-03
 2003-04


 No. 
  of Claims for Payment
 Total 
  Paid
 No. 
  of Claims for Payment
 Total 
  Paid


 Argyll and Clyde
 3
 £9,000
 4
 £10,0001


 Borders
 5
 £15,000
 4
 £12,000


 Dumfries and Galloway
 2
 £6,000
 3
 £9,000


 Grampian
 8
 £24,000
 8
 £24,000


 Highland
 3
 £9,000
 3
 £9,000


 Orkney
 -
 -
 1
 £3,000


 Western Isles
 1
 £3,000
 1
 £3,000


 Total
 22
 £66,000
 24
 £70,000



  Source: GP218.

  Notes:

  1. One of the four claims was paid at £1,000.

Dental Health

Shona Robison (Dundee East) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many grants have been awarded to established dental practitioners setting up or expanding approved vocational training practices in each year since the scheme was introduced, broken down by NHS board area.

Mr Tom McCabe: The information requested is shown below.

  Number of Claims Made for Practice Improvements to Establish New Vocational Training Practices

  

  
 No. of Claims Made


 NHS Board Area
 2002-031
 2003-04


 Scotland
 -
 10


 Argyll and Clyde
 -
 -


 Ayrshire and Arran
 -
 -


 Borders
 -
 -


 Dumfries and Galloway
 -
 1


 Fife
 -
 -


 Forth Valley
 -
 2


 Grampian
 -
 -


 Greater Glasgow
 -
 2


 Highland
 -
 -


 Lanarkshire
 -
 2


 Lothian
 -
 3


 Orkney
 -
 -


 Shetland
 -
 -


 Tayside
 -
 -


 Western Isles
 -
 -



  Source: GP220.

  Note:

  1. Grants for practice improvements for new vocational training practices were introduced with effect from 1 August 2002 and no claims were made for the year 2002-03.

  Number of Claims Made for Practice Improvements to Existing Vocational Training Practices

  

 NHS Board Area
 No. 
  of Claims Made


 2002-031
 2003-04


 Scotland
 4
 68


 Argyll and Clyde
 1
 4


 Ayrshire and Arran
 1
 1


 Borders
 -
 6


 Dumfries and Galloway
 -
 -


 Fife
 -
 8


 Forth Valley
 1
 2


 Grampian
 -
 7


 Greater Glasgow
 1
 13


 Highland
 -
 -


 Lanarkshire
 -
 4


 Lothian
 -
 11


 Orkney
 -
 -


 Shetland
 -
 -


 Tayside
 -
 12


 Western Isles
 -
 -



  Source: GP221.

  Note:

  1. Grants for practice improvements for existing vocational training practices were introduced on 1 August 2002. Information is therefore for part-year 2002-03.

Dental Health

Shona Robison (Dundee East) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many vocational training places there have been for (a) all dentists and (b) community dental services, in each year since 1999.

Mr Tom McCabe: The number of available training places in each year since 1999 is as follows:

  

 Year
 Number 
  of Voc Training Places for ALL dentists
 Number 
  of Training Places for Community Dental Services
 Total 
  Number of Training Places


 1999
 100
 20
 120


 2000
 100
 20
 120


 2001
 110
 20
 130


 2002
 110
 20
 130


 2003
 120
 20
 140


 2004
 120
 20
 140



  Not all training places are filled every year.

  Vocational training in dentistry normally describes training in the first year after graduation. In Scotland we also have an integrated 2nd year full-time training course (general professional training), and, in addition, a two year part-time vocational training/general professional training course.

Dental Health

Shona Robison (Dundee East) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what average number of sessions per dentist was taken up with postgraduate education in each year since 1999.

Mr Tom McCabe: The information requested is not held centrally.

Dental Health

Shona Robison (Dundee East) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many clinical assistant posts for dentists there have been in each year since 1999.

Mr Tom McCabe: The table below shows the number of dental clinical assistants in post in NHSScotland, as at 30 September, in each year since 1999.

  Dental Clinical Assistants in Post in NHSScotland (GDP (Para 107 Appointments))

  

  
 As 
  at 30 September


 1999
 2000
 2001
 2002
 2003


 Headcount
 81
 77
 79
 69
 63


 WTE
 14.3
 13.8
 13.8
 13.6
 11.7



  Source: ISD Scotland.

  Note:

  1. The term "Clinical Assistant" does not occur in the terms and conditions of service (TCS) of hospital medical and dental staff, and therefore does not denote a defined grade. As such the information presented in the table above refers to all part-time general dental practice (GDP) appointments under TCS Paragraph 107, commonly referred to as para 107.

  The number of Dental Clinical Assistant posts has been reducing as more use of grades such as Staff Grade and Associate Specialist has been made in response to changing dental service needs.

Dental Health

Shona Robison (Dundee East) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many, and what percentage of, dental nurses had any qualifications in each year since 1999, broken down by NHS board area.

Mr Tom McCabe: This information is not centrally held.

Dental Health

Shona Robison (Dundee East) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of five-year-olds in 2002-03 were free from dental caries, as referred to in Social Justice: A Scotland where everyone matters - Indicators of Progress 2003 .

Mr Tom McCabe: 45% of Scottish five year-olds were free from dental caries in 2002-03.

Drug Misuse

Miss Annabel Goldie (West of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive when it will publish its review of drug treatment and rehabilitation services.

Hugh Henry: The review will be published as soon as possible. The material in the review covers a wide range of activities, from outreach workers making first contact with drug misusers, through to initiatives to encourage recovered and recovering drug misusers into training and employment.

Drug Misuse

Ms Rosemary Byrne (South of Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the criteria are for accessing a methadone prescription or maintenance programme in Edinburgh.

Hugh Henry: There are no rigid local criteria. Patients must demonstrate a physical dependence on opiate drugs, but they do not have to be injectors. Prescribing is provided by GPs, by locality clinics, and by the new Transitional Access Prescribing Service.

  In addition, the Community Drug Prescribing Service will see any individual referred by another health professional, social worker, prison service or drugs agency. Priority is given to patients who are pregnant, those who have dual diagnosis, those engaging in the most dangerous injecting practices, and those who have contracted blood-borne viruses.

Drug Misuse

Ms Rosemary Byrne (South of Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the average waiting time is for those who (a) meet and (b) do not meet the criteria for accessing a methadone prescription or maintenance programme in Edinburgh.

Hugh Henry: Methadone prescribing is provided by individual GP practices, locality clinics, the Transitional Access Prescribing Service and the Community Drug Prescribing Service. Waiting times will vary and fluctuate from service to service.

  By way of illustration, however, the Community Drug Prescribing Service has made progress in reducing waiting times to an average of around five months, with priority patients receiving treatment within a few weeks.

  We are determined to reduce waiting times for drugs services. Drug Action Teams have produced local strategies to reduce waiting times, and we have introduced a new national waiting times framework to monitor waiting times more accurately and consistently across Scotland.

Education

Lord James Douglas-Hamilton (Lothians) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the current combined local authority and Executive expenditure per pupil in state secondary schools is in (a) each local authority and (b) Scotland.

Peter Peacock: Gross local authority revenue expenditure per pupil on secondary education in 2002-03, the latest year for which figures are available, is given in the following table.

  Executive expenditure on education is generally channelled through local authorities and is the therefore included in the figures in the table.

  

  
 Expenditure 
  Per Pupil


 Scotland
 4,657


 Aberdeen City
 4,638


 Aberdeenshire
 4,642


 Angus
 4,343


 Argyll and Bute
 5,067


 Clackmannanshire
 4,463


 Dumfries and Galloway
 4,069


 Dundee City
 4,779


 East Ayrshire
 4,502


 East Dunbartonshire
 4,290


 East Lothian
 4,465


 East Renfrewshire
 4,177


 Edinburgh City
 4,473


 Eilean Siar
 7,738


 Falkirk
 5,321


 Fife
 4,162


 Glasgow City
 5,755


 Highland
 4,869


 Inverclyde
 4,357


 Midlothian
 4,218


 Moray
 4,238


 North Ayrshire
 4,641


 North Lanarkshire
 4,464


 Orkney Islands
 5,949


 Perth and Kinross
 4,824


 Renfrewshire
 4,380


 Scottish Borders
 4,650


 Shetland Islands
 9,118


 South Ayrshire
 4,719


 South Lanarkshire
 4,059


 Stirling
 4,586


 West Dunbartonshire
 4,807


 West Lothian
 4,409



  Source: LFR1 returns submitted to the Scottish Executive by local authorities and the pupil census September 2003.

Environment

Ms Rosemary Byrne (South of Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive what monitoring is undertaken into any potential air, land and water pollution incidents from the Energy, Power, Resources Ltd plant at Cardenden, Fife.

Ms Rosemary Byrne (South of Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive what (a) air, (b) land or (c) water pollution incidents have occurred at the Energy, Power, Resources Ltd plant at Cardenden, Fife, since 2001.

Ms Rosemary Byrne (South of Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive what environmental safeguards are in place for the area surrounding the Energy, Power, Resources Ltd plant at Cardenden, Fife in respect of air, land and water pollution from the plant.

Ms Rosemary Byrne (South of Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive what health safeguards are in place for the population surrounding the Energy, Power, Resources Ltd plant at Cardenden, Fife in respect of air, land and water pollution from the plant.

Ross Finnie: This is a matter for the Scottish Environment Protection Agency. The information requested is not held centrally.

Health

Bristow Muldoon (Livingston) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has on any evaluations that have been carried out on the Agenda for Change early implementation sites in England and whether any evaluations have been carried out on the project sites in Scotland, in particular in relation to the management of additional annual leave entitlement.

Malcolm Chisholm: Initial findings from the Early implementer sites in England and the four project sites in Scotland are currently being fed into a UK review of Agenda for Change being carried out in partnership with the relevant trades unions. This review is due for completion at the end of July and is examining all aspects of Agenda for Change, including annual leave.

  We liaise regularly with the four Scottish Project sites and members of the Scottish Pay Reference and Implementation Group to address any issues arising from the work they are undertaking.

Interception of Communications

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many warrants allowing the interception of communications were issued in (a) 2000, (b) 2001, (c) 2002 and (d) 2003.

Cathy Jamieson: Details of the number of interception warrants issued by the Scottish ministers are contained in the annual reports of the Interception of Communication Commissioner , which are laid before this Parliament. The most recent annual report, for 2002, was laid before Parliament on 9 September 2003, and copies were placed in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. number 29093).

Justice

Donald Gorrie (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many instances of breaches of tagging conditions have occurred in each year since the inception of electronic tagging.

Cathy Jamieson: Since restriction of liberty orders have been available to all courts in Scotland, a total of 547 offenders have been returned to court for breaching the terms of their order - 98 in 2002, 296 in 2003 and 153 in 2004.

  Serious incidents of breach of a restriction of liberty order which demonstrate wilful and measurable non-compliance of the order are reported to the court within 24 hours of their occurrence. Other more minor violations are reported to the courts cumulatively so that the courts can consider their impact in relation to overall compliance with the order.

  All breaches are fully investigated, recorded and reported to the court.

Justice

Donald Gorrie (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many instances of failures of tagging equipment there have been in each year since the inception of electronic tagging.

Cathy Jamieson: 1,617 offenders have been electronically monitored since 1 May 2002 and of those, there have been a total of 237 incidences where the central computer system has identified a malfunction, or potential malfunction, of part of the electronic monitoring equipment, 48 in 2002, 111 in 2003 and 78 in 2004.

  The central computer system detects all incidences of malfunction, however minor. This includes such incidences as low battery life. In every case where the central computer system detects a malfunction, the contractor replaces the faulty or damaged equipment to ensure continued monitoring of the offender’s compliance with their order. All faulty and damaged equipment is returned to the manufacturer.

Justice

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) bankruptcies, (b) receiverships and (c) liquidations there were in (i) 2000-01, (ii) 2001-02, (iii) 2002-03 and (iv) 2003-04, broken down by sheriff court district.

Hugh Henry: The personal bankruptcy information requested is contained in the following table.

  

 Sheriffdom
 Sheriff Court
 Financial 
  Year (1st April to 31st March)


 2000-01
 2001-02
 2002-03
 2003-04


 Glasgow and Strathkelvin
 Glasgow
 324
 306
 340
 322


 Lothians and Borders
 Edinburgh
 234
 197
 234
 262


 Duns
 6
 8
 6
 5


 Haddington
 33
 64
 86
 105


 Jedburgh
 31
 18
 28
 28


 Linlithgow
 98
 118
 87
 124


 Peebles
 10
 6
 8
 6


 Selkirk
 14
 20
 14
 17


  
 426
 431
 463
 547


 Grampian, Highland and Islands
 Aberdeen
 188
 211
 187
 202


 Banff
 12
 16
 19
 19


 Dingwall
 21
 17
 10
 25


 Dornoch
 4
 11
 11
 5


 Elgin
 47
 46
 42
 60


 Fort William
 21
 18
 31
 13


 Inverness
 41
 46
 59
 38


 Kirkwall
 10
 6
 8
 10


 Lerwick
 15
 10
 5
 12


 Lochmaddy
 0
 1
 2
 2


 Peterhead
 28
 45
 29
 68


 Portree
 5
 2
 12
 4


 Stonehaven
 25
 24
 34
 29


 Stornoway
 4
 2
 5
 10


 Tain
 7
 12
 11
 6


 Wick
 14
 8
 9
 17


  
 442
 475
 474
 520


 North Strathclyde
 Campbeltown
 13
 23
 15
 7


 Dumbarton
 83
 69
 99
 95


 Dunoon
 18
 13
 26
 13


 Greenock
 34
 35
 49
 49


 Kilmarnock
 162
 160
 136
 158


 Oban
 23
 25
 42
 22


 Paisley
 171
 212
 127
 120


 Rothesay
 4
 4
 3
 5


  
 508
 541
 497
 469


 South Strathclyde, Dumfries 
  and Galloway
 Airdrie
 162
 173
 166
 103


 Ayr
 83
 98
 113
 89


 Dumfries
 44
 55
 43
 51


 Hamilton
 159
 212
 214
 232


 Kirkcudbright
 24
 20
 23
 19


 Lanark
 30
 35
 36
 39


 Stranraer
 15
 12
 12
 15


  
 517
 605
 607
 548


 Tayside, Central and Fife
 Alloa
 24
 31
 40
 35


 Arbroath
 35
 29
 29
 43


 Cupar
 41
 51
 50
 58


 Dundee
 105
 139
 135
 162


 Dunfermline
 102
 119
 91
 128


 Falkirk
 110
 126
 108
 125


 Forfar
 31
 27
 30
 31


 Kirkcaldy
 151
 149
 171
 164


 Perth
 71
 116
 149
 107


 Stirling
 51
 48
 44
 50


  
 721
 835
 847
 903


 Totals
  
 2,938
 3,193
 3,228
 3,309



  Note:

  The above figures include awards made in the Court of Session and remitted to the appropriate sheriff court.

  Statistics on company insolvencies are not available by sheriff court district. The total numbers for the years requested are:

  

  
 2000-01
 2001-02
 2002-03
 2003-04


 Receiverships
 111
 68
 114
 99


 Liquidations
 753
 568
 853
 794

Livestock

John Farquhar Munro (Ross, Skye and Inverness West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the feasibility study to be carried out into the future of the Bull Hire Scheme will consider the (a) introduction of a replacement grant scheme and (b) refining of the current scheme, in line with recommendations in the Scottish Agricultural College’s Report on the Review of the Crofters Commission Livestock Improvement Schemes to make the scheme compliant with EU state aid rules and best value.

Allan Wilson: We have chosen to continue to invest in support for cattle improvement in the crofting counties and are looking with stakeholders at a range of options.

  Any future support measures must bring measurable improvements, give the taxpayer value for money and comply with EU state aids rules, in particular the Community Guidelines for State Aid in the Agricultural Sector. It is our view that in order to get approval of a new scheme for state aid purposes the support to crofters should take the form of a grant. This makes it transparent how much support is being given, provides a mechanism for linking support with measurable improvement and enables us to deliver the assistance in a manner that complies with the guidelines.

  We would have refined the existing scheme to deliver measurable improvement as suggested in the Scottish Agricultural College (SAC) report if we had thought it feasible to do so. However, we could only have done so if there were no on-going subsidy to crofters within the scheme and thus no state aid. The cost of hires in that circumstance would be extremely high and more than we believe crofters would be prepared to pay. Furthermore, many of the costs we would need to recoup are fixed costs so if demand were to drop fees would inevitably increase even further.

  We do intend to ensure that any new scheme will deliver genuine and measurable improvements in the quality of stock. A number of the SAC recommendations on what is required to deliver better quality and better value for money will therefore be taken on board. A grant scheme need not take the form envisaged in the SAC report and such an approach is not what we currently intend. Payment of assistance through grant does not rule out features of the existing scheme such as supply of bulls from a stud facility on hire or provision of facilities for over wintering of stock. The crucial issue is that any service provided by government must be on a full cost recovery basis in the first instance. However, it may be possible to partially offset some of these costs by grant payments. This is precisely the kind of issue which we are currently discussing bilaterally and in focus groups with interested parties.

Livestock

Rob Gibson (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Crofters Commission is to remove the bull from its coat of arms in consequence of the abolition of the Livestock Improvement Scheme.

Allan Wilson: No.

Ministerial Correspondence

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when the Minister for Communities will reply to my letter dated 30 April 2004 regarding Mr A Hepburn of Peterhead.

Margaret Curran: Your letter was passed to the Student Awards Agency for Scotland who are responsible for the delivery of student support. The agency received your letter on 24 May. The agency’s customer services manager replied to you on 8 June.

Official Receptions

Tricia Marwick (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the purpose was of any reception held on the evening of 10 March 2004 at Bute House; whether it was a private function; whether any of the public areas of Bute House were used for the reception, and whether the cost of catering was met from public funds.

Mr Andy Kerr: No official reception was held in Bute House on the evening of 10 March 2004. Consequently no costs to public funds arose. No records of private use of Bute House are kept by the Scottish Executive.

Prison Service

Colin Fox (Lothians) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive when it now estimates that the practice of slopping out will be eradicated across the entire prison estate.

Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  I refer the member to the answer given to question S2W-3188 on 3 November 2003. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

Property Ownership

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many long leases there are, broken down by registration county.

Hugh Henry: The most up to date information on the number of long leases for the counties of Ayr, Clackmannan, Lanark and Renfrew is given in Appendix A of the Scottish Law Commission’s Discussion Paper on the Conversion of Long Leases (No. 112) at page 79, published by The Stationery Office in 2001, a copy of which is available in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. number 12799). The total number of long leases examined for these four counties was 2,679. These counties were selected due to their having a high incidence of long leases.

  In respect of the remaining counties of Scotland, the most recent information may be obtained from Appendix II of the Scottish Home Department publication, Report of the Scottish Leases Committee (chaired by Lord Guthrie) (1952, Cmd 8656) published by HMSO in 1952, a copy of which is available in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. number 32933).

  More up to date information could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Property Ownership

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has received a report from the Scottish Law Commission in respect of proposed legislation on the conversion of long leases.

Hugh Henry: We expect to receive a report by the end of 2004, as explained at page 15 of the Scottish Law Commission’s Annual Report for 2003 (Scot Law Com No 194) published by The Stationery Office in 2004, a copy of which is available in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. number 32268).

Rape

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many rapes have been reported in each police force area in (a) 1999-2000, (b) 2000-01, (c) 2001-02, (d) 2002-03, (e) 2003-04 and (f) 2004-05 to date and, of these, how many have been successfully prosecuted in each year.

Cathy Jamieson: The available information on crimes of rape which were recorded by the police, and on persons with a charge proved in court where rape was the main offence, is given in the following tables.

  Crimes of Rape Recorded by the Police by Police Force Area, Scotland, 1999-2000 to 2002-20031

  

 
 1999-2000
 2000-2001
 2001-2002
 2002-2003


 Central
 4
 17
 37
 50


 Dumfries and 
  Galloway
 39
 16
 20
 16


 Fife
 43
 46
 52
 73


 Grampian
 86
 55
 52
 74


 Lothian and 
  Borders
 91
 130
 138
 173


 Northern
 38
 14
 29
 30


 Strathclyde
 222
 213
 243
 244


 Tayside
 63
 58
 60
 83


 Scotland
 586
 549
 631
 743



  Persons with a Charge Of Rape2 Proved in Scottish Courts, by Police Force Area, 1999-2000 to 2002-2003

  

 
 1999-2000
 2000-2001
 2001-2002
 2002-20033


 Central
 2
 1
 0
 2


 Dumfries and 
  Galloway
 1
 2
 1
 1


 Fife
 1
 1
 5
 5


 Grampian
 5
 1
 2
 1


 Lothian and 
  Borders
 7
 9
 11
 4


 Northern
 3
 0
 3
 4


 Strathclyde
 8
 10
 18
 12


 Tayside
 0
 3
 3
 2


 Scotland
 27
 27
 43
 31



  Notes:

  1. Please note that the statistics dealing with recorded crime and court proceedings are not directly comparable as a person may be proceeded against for more than one crime involving more than one victim, and a crime may be recorded in one year and proceedings taken in a subsequent year. Charges recorded by the police may also be altered as a result of the judicial process.

  2. Where main offence.

  3. Provisional data – figures will be underestimates due to late recording of court outcomes on SCRO.

Regulation of Care

Mr David Davidson (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to review infection control in care establishments.

Malcolm Chisholm: All care services in Scotland (including children’s services) regulated by the Care Commission are required to demonstrate that the service is operated in line with all necessary legal requirements and best practice guidelines. This includes relevant guidelines on infection control.

Regulation of Care

Irene Oldfather (Cunninghame South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with the Care Commission regarding alleged incidents of abuse, theft and bullying suffered by residents of care homes.

Mr Tom McCabe: I met the Care Commission on 12 May to discuss its investigation of recent media reports about a care home, and have asked it to keep me informed about action it is taking as a result. The Care Commission has acted swiftly and has served an Improvement Notice (under the Regulation of Care (Scotland) Act 2001) on one provider, requiring certain action to be taken within specific dates otherwise it will move to cancel the registration. Meantime, the Care Commission is visiting the service weekly. It is also investigating other agencies named in the media reports.

Regulation of Care

Irene Oldfather (Cunninghame South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what criteria must be met by a private care company before a local authority can employ its services and whether present monitoring of these criteria is effective.

Mr Tom McCabe: Under the Regulation of Care (Scotland) Act 2001 local authorities must ensure that when they make arrangements for the provision of a care service the provider of that service is registered with the Care Commission. The Care Commission inspects care service providers against the relevant National Care Standards and regulations. It is up to local authorities whether they set any other criteria in addition to those required by the act, and how they monitor any which they may set. One of the purposes of the Regulation of Care (Scotland) Act 2001 was, however, to establish a consistent system of regulation of care agencies in all parts of Scotland. That would be undermined if individual authorities sought in effect to duplicate or enlarge upon the particular conditions of registration with the Care Commission.

Regulation of Care

Irene Oldfather (Cunninghame South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what measures are in place to ensure that elderly people who are vulnerable through mental illness are assisted in making complaints about the quality of care they receive.

Mr Tom McCabe: People using services regulated by the Care Commission are able to complain to the provider of the care service, who is required by law to have a procedure for dealing with complaints. They can also complain direct to the Care Commission, which has a complaints procedure approved by Scottish ministers. The National Care Standards that apply to care services for adults, such as those for care homes, include a standard about how to express views. It expects service users to be encouraged to express their views on any aspect of the care service, and, if they need help to raise concerns, to encourage and support them to use an independent and confidential advocacy service that can act for them. The Care Commission expects providers to demonstrate how they are meeting this standard.

Victim Support

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many victims of crime have been waiting for (a) less than one year, (b) one to two years, (c) two to three years and (d) more than three years for the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority to settle their claim, broken down by sheriff court district.

Cathy Jamieson: The available information, which relates to Scottish applications for an award, for the period 1 April 2003 to 31 March 2004, is given in the following table. The information requested is not available by sheriff court district.

  Date of Application to Date of Decision

  

 Period
 Number
 % Within Period


 Less than 1 year
 6,249
 70.24


 1 year to less than 2 years
 2,109
 23.70


 2 years to less than 3 years
 421
 4.73


 Over 3 years
 118
 1.33


 Total
 8,897
 100



  Source: Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority.